One of the perks of working in the same company as my husband is that we get to travel to and from work with each other. We wake up, bid goodbye to Rauf and listen our favourite radio channel on the way to work. Sometimes we talk about things that happened over the weekend, sometimes we talk about our plans for the week and how we feel about work, sometimes we don’t talk at all and just enjoy Aisyah Rod and Prem bicker about stuff over the radio. I find it really convenient to go home with my better half. I get to see him after a long day and for a moment we get to be just the two of us again.

But things are not always perfect. Sometimes we get so busy with everything else we end up talking at each other instead of talking to each other. I miss the times when we both would go out, eat, talk, dream and be there for one another when it’s needed.

I read in so many articles that married couples must try to have datenights, no matter how busy or how many children they have, sometimes it just needs to be the two of them. So I proposed this idea to Joe the other day, he happily agreed but due to our busy schedule we could only plan for sometime later that week.

One night, we headed out to 7-11 to get some ice cream for my family. I was in my kaftan, Joe was in his kain pelikat. After we left the shop, I complained to him in the car about not having enough ‘us time’. He apologised and suggested to have Teh Tarik in the mamak stall next door.

‘Mamak?’  I said ‘I don’t want a datenight in a mamak stall’

‘Come on la, this is not considered datenight I swear, it’s just Teh Tarik’ he replied

After giving him my ultimate sour face, I reluctantly got out of the car and stomped towards the mamak stall.

We ordered our drinks and started talking, and we did not stop until we both of us talked everything out.

I’ve always thought that the idea of a datenight was all about getting dressed up, eat at a nice place and spend a whole lot of money on food that is instgrammable but not so delicious. Don’t get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with getting glammed up once in a while, its a fun thing to do! but I realised my perception of datenight was completely wrong when Joe and I bonded over that RM2 teh tarik. I felt like we were Joe and Yana again, telling each other how we feel, sharing our joy and worries and comprising with each other’s needs and wants.

It’s easy to get lost in the midst of everything, so, lesson learnt, no matter how busy you are, just remember that datenights are still possible, even with 2 cups of teh tarik.